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Inoichi Yamanaka was concerned about his daughter. Recently, her kind and fun-loving attitude had disappeared. She also barely even greeted him when he came home, opting for a simple 'hello' before grabbing her dinner and locking herself in her room.

He'd always had trouble putting his foot down when it came to his baby daughter, something his wife mocked him relentlessly for. What could he say? She was his only child and his little sunflower.

He tried asking his wife about what her problem was, but she refused to answer.

"Why don't you ask your daughter yourself? You barely even see her as it is."

So, today he thought the time had finally come for him to see what was bothering her. Was she mad that he didn't spend enough time with her? It bothered him as well, but what could he do? Not only was he responsible for providing for his family, but he also held an incredibly important position in Konoha's intelligence division.

One of his most important duties was to keep an eye out for and interrogate enemy agents, preventing any attacks before they could even begin. While the villages were currently at peace, it was more of a cold-war situation. It wasn't a stretch to say that the lives of everyone in the village lay in his hands.

However, that was no excuse for neglecting his daughter.

He slowly made his way up the stairs while carrying a bowl of her favorite snack. Arriving at her door, he knocked softly.

"I wonder if Sunflower-chan is in there? I have something here she might really enjoy." He couldn't help but baby-talk her. She wasn't even eight years old yet and he would milk that fact for everything it was worth.

It wasn't long before he heard her bare feet pitter-patter over to the door. She unlocked the door and stuck her arm through the crack, attempting to grab at the bowl.

However, he couldn't let her have it yet. "If Sunflower-chan lets me in, I could consider giving this to her."

His daughter's face scrunched up at his baby talk, as it always did. "I'm not letting you in if you keep talking like that, dad."

He chuckled and raised one hand in defeat. "All right, sweetheart. Now, can I come in?"

She nodded and opened the door to invite him in.

He walked over to sit on her bed while trying to place the bowl on her desk, but saw that the entire surface was covered with paper and writing instruments. She seemed to be practicing her talismans.

He hated himself for enrolling her in the ninja academy. He knew exactly how dangerous being a ninja was. However, his wife had persuaded him that this was best for their daughter.

He thought that was a bit funny coming from a civilian woman running a flower shop. Regardless, he couldn't deny the truth in her words. He still wasn't happy about it, though. That was one of the reasons why he worked so hard – to keep the big dangers away from his family.

Finding an open space on a nightstand, he put down the bowl.

"You're really working hard, aren't you? I wasn't nearly as good a student when I was your age."

Ino sat down on the bed next to him, pulling up one of her pillows under her chin. "Thanks, dad. Umm…" She hesitated, looking as if she wanted to ask him something.

He raised an eyebrow. "If you need something, just ask. Your mom and I are always ready to help."

She looked over to her desk and continued. "Actually, there's something I need your help with. I don't really understand how this works." She said this while making her way over to the desk, picking up a sheet of paper filled with differently colored scribbles.

For a while they just spent their time like that. Him helping her with her homework while they chatted and laughed about things that had happened recently.

After all her homework had been done, Ino's expression seemed much better. However, Inoichi noticed that a slight gloom still hung over his daughter. It didn't seem like she would bring up the topic herself, so he resolved himself to ask her, even if it made her uncomfortable.

"You still seem a little bothered, sweety. Can you please tell me what's wrong? I can't help you if I don't know what it is."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye before shaking her head. "This isn't something you can help with, dad."

He was disheartened to hear that. "Why don't you try me? You won't know until you do, right?"

Ino considered that for a moment before shaking her head again. "I can't, it's too…" She muttered something into her pillow at the end, too soft for him to hear.

"I couldn't hear that last bit, darling. Too what?" He asked as gently as he could.

"Embarrassing! Too embarrassing!" She shouted the last part while completely burying her face in the pillow.

Inoichi could feel every drop of blood leave his body in mortification. Surely it was too soon for that, right?

"Uhm, is this something you can only tell your mom?" If that was indeed the case, then he would feel like a real blockhead for dragging it out of her.

"No…" She replied, shaking her head again.

Now he was even more confused.

She looked at him over the top of her pillow for a bit before mustering up the courage to speak. "It's about me and Sakura… we're not friends anymore."

He couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief when he heard that. At least it wasn't girl or boy problems.

He noticed Ino's disappointed look when she saw his reaction. He hurriedly scrambled to explain: "I didn't mean it like that! I'm just relieved that you aren't hurt or anything more serious."

She seemed to accept his explanation, her expression relaxing.

"Now why don't you tell me what happened between you two? You've been friends since you were small."

He'd known Kizashi and Mebuki since before Sakura had been born - they were both splendid ninja. Sakura herself was a good child, despite her explosive personality.

Ino paused again, looking at him before she continued speaking. "Promise you won't get mad?"

He frowned when he heard that. "Did you do something bad to Sakura-chan? If that's the case, then I can't promise.

She glared at him when he said that. "I didn't do anything bad to her! You can even ask her if you want!"

Inoichi scratched the back of his head sheepishly, ashamed at his own lack of faith in his daughter. "Sorry, Ino. I know you're not like that. I do stupid things when I'm mad, sometimes. I thought something like that may have happened."

His daughter rolled her eyes at him. "Are you going to promise now? I won't tell you if you don't."

"Okay, okay I promise I won't get mad." He relented, folding his hands behind his back.

She stared him in the eyes as if to make sure he was telling the truth. She took a breath before continuing, but stopped and buried her head in her pillow again before speaking. Inoichi had to strain his ears to hear a word of what she was saying.

"Sakura and I like the same person."

Surely, he was mistaken?

"I'm sorry sunflower, I don't think I heard that right."

"We like the same boy!" She removed her face from behind her pillow, but kept her eyes closed as she spoke those words at the ceiling.

There was no mistaking it this time.

Inoichi felt as if his wife had shattered a flowerpot over his head. This couldn't be real. Ino liked a boy? Didn't girls her age think boys were gross?

More importantly, who was this boy and would anyone notice if he went missing?

"What's his name?" He asked, his voice as deathly as the grave.

Ino looked over at him, her expression concerned. "You promised you wouldn't get mad, dad."

"I'm not mad, baby. Now tell me his name." Inoichi wasn't lying. He wasn't mad in the least. In fact, he didn't think his veins had ever been as ice cold as they were right now.

Ino kept her mouth shut, lips tightly pursed together.

"I can just ask Sakura if you won't tell me."

Was he overstepping his boundries? Perhaps, but he couldn't find it in himself to care at that moment.

"What are you going to do?" Ino asked, her voice wary.

"I'm not going to do anything, sweety. Maybe I'll just talk to him, that's all. Pinky promise!" He held out his pinky to her.

She looked at him, her expression turning disappointed. "This is why I didn't want to tell you, dad."

Inoichi felt that like a jab to his heart. What father could blame him for acting the way he did? He bit at his cheek, conflicted about what to do next. He didn't want to disappoint his daughter, but neither would he allow some useless troublemaker to hang around her.

With a sigh, he spoke. "Can you just tell me who he is, Ino? I just don't want you getting involved with some useless brat. I promise not to do anything to him."

He had suddenly discovered a new side to himself, today. He always believed that he held no prejudice against clanless commoners, but now it seems that wasn't the case. He found that he didn't want one near his daughter.

"He's not useless! He beat Haru Hyuga in a fight the other day! He's really smart too! His name is Sasuke Uchiha."

Inoichi's expression, which had started recovering, immediately plummeted to a never-seen-before low.

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Ino Yamanaka sighed as she walked into homeroom. Her conversation with her father had gone about as well as could be expected. She really didn't want to tell him, but her mother had urged her. Not much had come from the conversation, aside from him likely deciding to do something to Sasuke. She had failed to explain to him how they had never actually talked, but she doubted that would make a difference.

Both he and her mother had urged her to make up with Sakura-chan, emphasizing that a boy was not something to destroy their friendship over. She agreed.

However, she didn't know if Sakura felt the same way. Regardless, she would muster up her courage and confront Sakura. She felt a bit braver today. Maybe her talk with her dad did help a little?

Ino's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to where the boy in question was sitting. She almost couldn't pull her gaze away. He was too dreamy! She pointedly ignored the flaming strawberry sitting next to him.

Ino wasn't jealous of her - that girl was too dumb to even know what a crush was. She remembered how guilty her parents had looked when they told her to be careful of Naruko. Ino didn't get it, but she didn't doubt her parents' words.

She had started making her way over to her usual seat, noticing how Sakura hadn't arrived yet.

She suddenly thought about going over to warn Sasuke about her dad, but… what was she supposed to say? 'I have a crush on you and now my dad wants to kick your butt?' She wasn't sure he even knew her name!

Zoning back in, she noticed Sasuke looking in her direction. She was staring too hard and he'd found her out! She stood there, petrified, while a red haze slowly covered her face and neck.

"Tsk. Why are you blushing like that, creep?" Suddenly she heard a scathing voice speak from behind her.

"Sakura…" Ino turned to look at her old friend.

"Hmph." Sakura huffed as she walked past Ino, ramming into her shoulder as she did so.

Ino stumbled back a little, but didn't fall over. She gritted her teeth.

"I want to talk to you." Said Ino, addressing the pink haired girl in front of her.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you." Sakura walked over her desk as she said so, not even looking back at Ino standing behind her. They'd attracted a bit of attention from their surroundings.

Ino walked over to her seat embarrassedly, resolving to confront Sakura about their issue during recess.

As she laid her head down on her arms, waiting for class to start, she heard someone sit down next to her.

"I don't get why you're so obsessed with that guy." The voice that spoke had a lazy, laid-back quality to it.

"Mind your own business, Shikamaru."

She actually got along quite well with the boy – both of them being rather mature for their age. They'd known each other since forever, with how close their parents were. However, right now she wasn't in the mood for his jibes.

"I really don't understand girls." He sighed as he said this.

She could hear a clacking sound as he set down what was most likely a chess set on their table.

"Wanna play?"

She didn't see the point. He always won. The only way she could even stand a chance was if he went easy on her. He was too gosh-darn smart.

She shook her head where she lay.

"I can go easy on you, maybe even let you win."

That made her mad.

"Why don't you go jump off hokage mountain instead of bothering me?"

He didn't reply, instead opting to shift the pieces back and forth as he played both sides of the board.

A few minutes later, Iruka-sensei arrived and started their lesson.

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Ino slipped out of the class once break started, following after a familiar mop of pink hair.

Sakura didn't have any friends aside from herself. It wasn't surprising to Ino… Sakura gave people the impression of being two-faced. It's not like she was talking about people behind their backs or anything, Sakura just had an abrasive personality that she tried to hide by acting more lady-like. It wasn't that hard to notice that she was faking it.

Ino arrived on the academy rooftop a short while after Sakura.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked her, turning around to look her in the eyes.

Ino couldn't help but feel a little upset at Sakura's attitude. They'd been friends since enrolling in the academy when they were four years old. Didn't that mean anything?

"Why are you like this?" Ino asked her, her tone helpless. Sure, she didn't like the idea of Sakura taking Sasuke for herself, but she wouldn't shun her for it!

"Like this? Should I be more like you then, little miss perfect?" Sakura clenched her fists at her sides as she said this.

Ino had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Tsk. That's what I mean. You're always acting so innocent, like you never do anything wrong!" Sakura had started marching over to her, her feet stomping on the ground.

"'Ino's so friendly. She's so pretty. Her dad's so important' yada, yada… That's all anyone ever says about you. Do you know what people say about me?"

Sakura shoved her nose right up Ino's face. "They say I have a bad personality, and a giant forehead - that's what they say about me!"

Her lower lip started trembling. "Since we stopped being friends, I tried to find other people to hang out with, but it was useless! The girls ignore me and the boys keep asking me about you!"

Unable to hold it in anymore, Sakura burst into tears. She tried to storm down the stairs, but Ino grabbed her by her shoulders. Sakura tried to shake her off, but she wasn't able to stop Ino from pulling her into a hug. Eventually Sakura relented and started hugging her back, sobbing into her shoulder all the while.

The two friends stood like that for a while, the one crying while the other consoled her.

Once Sakura's crying had died down for a bit, Ino spoke to her while stroking her hair. "I'll always be your friend."

Sakura sniffed and raised her head to look at Ino. "Why does no-one like me? Should I be more like you?"

Ino felt very uncomfortable being asked that. "Well… my dad says you should only be friends with people that like you for who you are."

Sakura nodded her head, but still seemed gloomy.

Trying to cheer her up, Ino thought of an idea. "Hey, why don't we go hang out with Choji and Shikamaru? They're super annoying, and they're boys… but they aren't mean."

Sakura considered the idea, but she didn't exactly seem thrilled.

That was when they heard a boisterous voice coming from down the stairs. "…Sasuke! I've done it a few times, actually. Nobody's ever caught me."

Ino and Sakura turned around to see a person with a messy head of hair come up the stairs, clad in an awful orange tracksuit.

Behind them walked another person with an appearance like a marble sculpture. His black hair shone flawlessly, and was bound in a warrior's topknot.

The dissonance between the two was enough to make the observer's brain shake in their skull.

Naruko suddenly turned shy when she noticed their presence. "Uhm…" She spoke, pressing her fingers together as she did so.

Ino and Sakura were too shellshocked by the boy's presence to react to her.

Ino felt Sakura tugging at her hand, trying to lead them down the stairs. She likely didn't want the boy to see her tear-ridden face.

Ino suddenly thought of doing something very stupid. If it didn't work, Sakura would hate her for it, but if it did…

"H-Hey Sasuke. Uhm… Sakura, my friend, isn't feeling so well. Could you take her to the nurse's office?" She asked, stuttering as she did so.

Sakura immediately started twisting and pulling her arm, trying to drag her down the stairs. "D-Don't worry about it, I'm fine!" She aimed the words over her shoulder, as they passed by the spot where the two new arrivals now stood.

"What are you doing?" She whispered the last part so only Ino could hear her.

Before she could reply, the walking strawberry explosion that had been hitherto ignored, suddenly spoke. "E-Ehm, if she isn't feeling well, maybe you should go with her Sasuke."

Being put on the spot like that, Sakura couldn't help but vehemently shake her head. "I'm totally fine. Honest!" She turned around to face the two and spread her hands to her sides, her posture embarrassed. "See?"

It seemed that Sakura had somehow found the opportunity to wipe her face clean when no-one was looking. Aside from her slightly reddened eyes, you wouldn't be able to tell she'd been crying a moment ago.

Naruko looked at her with concern for a moment. "Oh, well if you're really okay."

Sakura nodded her head, grabbing Ino and dragging her back towards the stairs.

"Wait!"

Before the the two girls could head down, they heard Naruko call out from behind them.

"Do you… do you guys want to hang out with us?"

They turned around to see Naruko looking at Sasuke, as if to check for his approval. When he remained as stone-faced as ever, she smiled shyly and looked back in their direction.

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, the same thought going through their heads.

'This is our chance.'

Sakura was the first to respond. "Okay, if you don't mind." She glanced at Sasuke, but lowered her head when she became too shy to maintain eye-contact.

Ino tried and failed to form a natural smile while saying: "Sounds like fun." She didn't look at Sasuke either.

"Awesome!" Shouted, the coppery-haired girl, her expression the picture of joy. "I brought too many water balloons for myself, anyway. Sasuke never wants to do anything fun."

Ino and Sakura watched as she pulled a few deflated water balloons and water bottles from her orange jumpsuit. They had no idea where she found the space for that many of them…

The two looked worried for a moment before glancing at each other and nodding their heads.

If something happened, they would blame it all on Naruko.

Sasuke picked a spot in the shade and promptly plopped himself down. The two tentatively walked over to him and sat down, one at each of his sides. They relaxed when he didn't object, smiles on both of their faces.

For the rest of recess, the three of them watched as the hyperactive girl tossed water balloons down at unsuspecting passers-by. The quiet atmosphere was occasionally punctuated by the sound of their surprised cries.

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